View Historical Events by Day:

What Happened Today in History on October 17

Explore the historical events that shaped our world on October 17th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.

Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.

We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.

Search & Filter Events by Day, Month, or Year.

Today

View Events by Month:

January February March April May June

July August September October November December

View October Events by Day:

All in Oct. Today

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Jump to A Year: (Events in Oct.)

BCE CE

Browse More Historical Events by Day

Oct. 16

Oct. 17

Oct. 18

Circa 1009, October

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is destroyed by order of the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The Church has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout history.

After the significant 1009 damage the site was eventually restored and rebuilt by the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomachus in 1048. Subsequent rebuilding and repairs, particularly the rebuilding by Crusaders in the 12th century and major renovations in 1810, have led to the current structure.

1448 CE, October 17

The Second Battle of Kosovo takes place between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo field. The three-day battle resulted In the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeating the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi.

After the battle, the path was clear for the Turks to conquer Serbia and the other Balkan States. With the end of the half-century-long Crusader threat to their European frontier, Murad's son Mehmed II was free to lay siege to Constantinople in 1453.

1777 CE, October 17

The British forces, led by General John Burgoyne, surrender to the American Continental Army at the Battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the American Revolutionary War.

1904 CE, October 17

The Bank of Italy opens its doors in San Francisco. Founded by Amadeo Pietro Giannini, the bank changed its name to Bank of America on November 1,1930. It eventually merged with other institutions becoming a major banking force. More

1907 CE, October 17

Guglielmo Marconi's company launched the first commercial transatlantic wireless service making long-distance communication faster and more accessible and breaking the monopoly of the undersea cable companies. The service connected Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, and Clifden, Ireland and transmitted messages as "Marconigrams" using Morse code.

The messages were sent as radio waves, which were transmitted by a spark-gap transmitter and received as a series of "beeps" by a receiving operator who translated them back into text. The new service was an instant success, increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of transatlantic communication and laying the foundation for modern wireless technologies. On April, 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. Marconi's Wireless service proved to be instrumental in helping with the rescue; Herbert Samuel, Britain’s postmaster-general, was quoted to have said during a court of inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic, “Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr. Marconi…and his marvelous invention.”

1912 CE, October 17

The First Balkan War breaks out as Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece declare war on the Ottoman Empire, following Montenegro which had declared war on the Ottoman Empire on October 12, 1912. More

1973 CE, October 17

Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposes an embargo against the United States, in retaliation for the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. More

1989 CE, October 17

The 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake, also called the San Francisco Earthquake, strikes the Bay Area in California causing 63 deaths, nearly 3000 injuries and billions of Dollars of damage. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. More